Fin froze as she stood before him. He was covered in dirt and smelt of sweat. She didn't find it offensive but found she couldn't look away.

She stared as his gaze moved from her hair to her mouth and then to her eyes. The expression on his face changed. It relaxed into something that sent a shard of consciousness right through her. The sensation travelled from the base of her stomach to the tips of her breasts. Fin's stomach surged. Her heart pounded with fear. Fear of not understanding these reactions or why she couldn't pull her eyes away from his, jumbled in her head. She was no stranger to fear but this was different. It confused her. She wrapped her arms over her body, dropped her head and ducked around him.

Tears seeped from her eyes as she scrambled into her usual booth and buried her face in her knees. He scared her but not like the Gallos did. There was something different about him.

Sometime later Fin found the courage to lift her head to meet his gaze. She slunk into the booth and shifted her thoughts to things she'd seen on the TV.

The image of Scarlet O'Hara being kissed by Rhett Butler appeared before her. Fin took a quick breath. That was not what she wanted to think about.

She couldn't help smiling, Scarlet was beautiful and Rhett was handsome. Fin darted a glance at the stranger and wondered if he was still a stranger now that she had seen him a few times.

As she rested her head on her knees, she concluded, that he was still a stranger, because she didn't know his name and they'd never talked to each other.

Drawing circles on the table with her finger, Fin thought about the stranger some more and hoped he never spoke to her. If he did, she'd have to talk back and she didn't want to do that because she didn't like men.

Her mind went to the Gallos. Fin's stomach clenched. A surge of nausea made her gag. Her vision blurred as she focused on the table. Sucking back her tears she thought about, Gone with the Wind. Scarlet was beautiful and all of her dresses were amazing. Fin closed her eyes and pictured herself in one of those dresses.

She swirled across the dance floor in a beautiful red velvet gown. The image mired as she wondered what velvet felt like. It looked shiny and fluffy.

She put herself back in the red velvet dress and danced on polished timber floorboards. A rap on her table made her jerk her head up. The stranger stood staring at her. Fin shot a look toward the bar. Her father was still drinking. She peered at the outsider again and shuffled backwards. The dado rail on the wall jabbed into her back.

"Eat this."

The veins on either side of his neck stood out and his Adam's apple bounced as he spoke and put the food on the table. Fin glanced at the food and then at him expecting him to say something else.

He didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath and walked away. Fin stared at the food. Her stomach grumbled. If she ate the food, she would owe him.

Fin looked back at the bar. Snake said something to the man and laughed. Snake never spoke to the Gallos or laughed with them. He scowled when he served them. Her stomach rumbled again. Saliva wet her mouth. It smelt good.

Snake's laughter echoed through the room. Fin strained to hear what was said. Snake tapped the counter and walked away. Snake laughing meant he liked a person. Based on Snake's behaviour, she decided it was okay to eat the hamburger.

A ball of anxiety wedged in her throat. The stranger turned his head and caught her staring. She hid her face and swallowed hard. After a few minutes, she heard a stool scrap so peered through her hair. He had stood and was heading to the toilets. Fin waited a minute more and then grabbed the burger and drink before slinking into the booth to sink her teeth into the juicy sandwich. It was delicious.

The stranger had gone by the time she dragged her father to the car. Fin hoped he hadn't realised she'd eaten the burger because she'd put the wrapper and empty can back on the table where he'd left them to make it look like the burger was still inside the paper.

Fin drove home and then struggled to get her father inside. Once he was settled, she went for a shower. She caught sight of her naked image in the foggy mirror and wiped the glass clean with her towel so she could study her body. She wasn't fat. That was one thing she knew for certain because there were no rolls or saggy bits. Not even her breasts sagged.

She touched her nipple and questioned the tingle she'd experienced when the stranger had stood before her in the hall. Fin ran her hand over her flat stomach. The tingle had started there. Maybe she was getting sick? Sometimes when a person has a fever their body does weird things like sweating and getting covered in goose bumps.

She'd seen it in a western movie. The cowboy had been shot and the wound got infected before he got a fever. Fin put her hand on her forehead. No, she wasn't hot so she couldn't be sick. She got dressed, scrubbed her teeth and climbed into bed.

Scarlet O'Hara came to mind as she closed her eyes. She wanted to be beautiful like Scarlet.

I hope you are enjoying the story so far.  

Cody seems to be getting his life together and I think he and Fin may have connected.  

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